Iran Launches Strait Authority, Conditions Hormuz Passage on Tehran Coordination and Bitcoin Insurance

Iran unveiled a Strait Authority to “manage passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, conditioning transit on “full co-ordination” with Tehran and deeming “passage without authorisation” unlawful, while broadcasting instructions to ships on a radio frequency.

The plan includes a Hormuz Safe service offering “cryptographically verifiable insurance policies” with payments settled in Bitcoin, and pro-regime media projected revenues above $10 billion (Dh36.7bn).

Al-Monitor

Reuters reported that traffic slowed to a near-standstill after 38 attacks on ships killed 11 people, and it said the US and Gulf allies rejected any suggestion of Iran charging tolls on the strait.

Iran’s state television framed the authority as permission-based control, saying, “This is the [Arabian Gulf] Strait Authority. To pass through the Strait of Hormuz, ask for permission.”

Iran’s Mohsen Rezaei warned that the Gulf of Oman could become a “graveyard” for U.S. forces if Washington’s naval pressure continues, and he said, “A naval blockade means war, and we consider confronting it our legitimate right.”

In parallel, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran and Oman are drafting a joint security mechanism, emphasizing that expert-level bilateral talks were held in Muscat last week and remain ongoing.

Al-Rai

Baghaei also said the instability was driven by “lawbreaking by the United States and Israel,” while dismissing attempts to reduce the issue to “a purely financial matter.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in a weekly press briefing that Iran is “currently in constant contact with Oman and other relevant parties to devise a mechanism that realizes this goal.”

The International Energy Agency warned that commercial oil inventories are depleting rapidly, with Fatih Birol telling reporters that the world only has “several weeks” of oil reserves left and that inventories are “declining rapidly.”

Press TV said Birol noted that strategic reserves releases added 2.5 million barrels of oil per day to the market, but he warned that these reserves “are not endless.”

The IEA also reported that global observed oil inventories fell at a record pace in March and April, dropping by 246 million barrels, and it said the 32-member IEA coordinated the largest-ever release of stocks from strategic reserves in March, agreeing to withdraw 400 million barrels.

Press TV tied the inventory squeeze to the Strait of Hormuz situation, stating that the Islamic Republic insists it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz unless the blockade is lifted and the war reaches a permanent end, while Iran says the strait passes “one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.”